This set of drawing instruments is covered with finely executed damascening in gold and silver, and must have been commissioned as a gift on a princely scale. Although unsigned, the quality of the decoration has suggested a Milanese origin.
The instruments include various forms of dividers, proportional dividers, pairs of compasses, folding rules and pencils, all with gilt inner surfaces. There is also an accompanying casket with ink wells and the set may originally have been completed with a damascened case to hold the instruments (the leather-covered case is probably 19th century).
